Walmart resisted accepting any of the big mobile payment systems from companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung, instead becoming part of the CurrentC consortium, then developing its own proprietary payment app. As of today, customers can use Walmart Pay at 590 stores in Texas and Arkansas.

The very clever thing that Walmart has done is make the payment module part of their existing store app, which millions of customers have already downloaded. The company claims that twenty million people actually use the Walmart app every month. (Most of them are probably using Savings Catcher.) When the payment system rolls out nationwide, the app will be there on customers’ phones, ready to go. Walmart hasn’t announced when that national rollout will be: they’ve been testing the app around their hometown of Bentonville, AR since December.

The system stores credit, debit, prepaid debit, and gift cards on Walmart’s servers, and doesn’t require an NFC chip to work, which means that it works on any iOS or Android device that has a working camera and is capable of running the app. Instead, it works using QR codes generated for each transaction, which customers scan with their camera from within the app.

Walmart Pay [Official Site]

FURTHER READING:
Tap Or Scan Here To Pay: Know Your Mobile Payment Apps

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